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. young, but would saffer themselves to be trodden upon or feng off with the a ee so thickly were the
: bee placed, that it was no easy matter to avoid crushing either he i a aa ye a the
\ | eeaale of January the eggs were nearly ready to hatch, ak there WOU Ue Wi ae e Seid Ce of

| | this species yearly but for the check which nature has eee against it im t c pee c small lizard
which is very abundant about their breeding-places, and which finds an easy prey in the young oddy and the

 

i rever’ § ‘leare i ‘mestes lardarius, an insect which occurs j
marrow; the remainder is however soon cleared off by the Derme ; san

; Pee -e thi t of every twenty bird

Sterna fulivinosa. 1am satisfied, that on an average, not more than one ou ‘ J ; a iy wi
; : : : ; Gi eas i vhi rreat numbers of the o Ir
| ever reach maturity, or live long enough to take wing ; besides which, : ed eel ; ds are

; i . a, ir nerely extract the brain and vertebr
Wii constantly killed: these lizards do not eat the whole bird, but 1 y bral
: ;
:
'

amazing numbers, and gave me a great deal of uneasiness and constant trouble to preserve ny, collection
from their repeated attacks. I did not observe the Noddy on any but the South Island. ne it finds an

abundant supply of food, consisting of small fish, small mollusca, medusz, cuttle-fish, ee immediately
. outside the outer reef, it has no occasion to go far out to sea; I never observed it feeding in the smooth
quiet water between the outer reef and the islands.”

Considerable variation is found to exist in the markings of the eggs; the greater number are of a cream-
colour, thinly sprinkled all over, except at the larger end, where they become more ae and form an
irregular zone, with blotches of chestnut-red and dark brown, the latter colour appearing as if beneath the
: surface of the shell ; but examples occur in which the markings are much more numerous and almost equally
: distributed over the surface, and others which are nearly pure white; and I possess one specimen in which
| the markings are so large and dark that it might be readily mistaken for the egg of some other bird. They

are two inches in length by one inch and a half in breadth.
The flight of this species is apparently laboured, being performed with a considerable action of the wings ;
at the same time the bird is capable of sustaining itself for a long time just above the surface of the water,
; and of frequently making abrupt and rapid turns while engaged in the search of its prey ; its soft and dense
| | plumage renders it exceedingly buoyant, and as the largely-developed membrane of the feet would in-
| ! dicate, it swims with great ease.
The sexes are so nearly alike, that by dissection alone can they be distinguished ; and the young acquire
the plumage of the adult at a very early age.
| Upper and under surface chocolate-brown ; crown of the head pale grey, gradually blending with the
brown of the upper surface ; primaries and tail brownish black ; immediately before and above the anterior
angle of the eye a spot of black ; irides brown; bill black ; feet dull brownish red; webs dusky; claws
black.

The Plate represents a male, a female, a nest and an egg of the natural size.

 

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